Free drop container



g- 1964 J. H. NOURSE ET AL 3,145,747

FREE DROP CONTAINER Filed June 18, 1962 Fig.1.

INVENTORS l9 '6 20 William 19. Crawford.

Jess H/Vburse.

ATTORNEY ted W m Q 3,145,747 FREE DROP CONTAINER Jess H. Nourse, Ypsilanti, Mich, and William B. Crawford, Mishawaka, Ind., assignors to the United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Army Fiied June 18, 1962, Ser. No. 203,413

9 Ciaims. (Cl. 150--1) The invention described herein, if patented, may be manufactured and used by or for the Government for governmental purposes, without the p-ayment'to us of any royalty thereon.

The invention relates to free drop containers for liquids of the type which are dropped from aircraft without benefit of a parachute but which are stabilized in flight and which areso shaped as to retard thespe'ed of fall when so stabilized, Q

Containers of this type are well known and the most difficult problem'is to create a container whichis strong enough to prevent the walls from bursting upon impact without increasing the weight of the container to too great an extent. During a stabilized fall a flexible container will tend to assume a globular or tear drop shape but, of course, upon impact it flattens out and the liquid spreads in all directions with sufficient force to create bursting stresses.

With the foregoing in view, it is an object of the invention to provide an improved free drop container of the class described.

A further object is to provide in such a container novel means for retarding the speed or force of the radial spread of the liquid upon impact.

A further object is to provide in such a container, means for confining the bulk of the liquid therein in a central portion of the container during free fall, together with means retarding the flow of such liquid out of such central portion upon impact.

Other objects and advantages reside in the particular structure of the invention, the structure of the several elements of the same, combinations and sub-combinations of such elements, all of which will be readily understood by those skilled in the art upon reference to the attached drawing which illustrates one species of the invention and to the following specification wherein the invention is described and claimed.

In the drawing:

FIGURE 1 is a top plan view of a container according to the invention;

FIGURE 2 is a transverse vertical sectional view of the same showing the container in the static position with a normal amount of liquid contained therein; and

FIGURE 3 is a View like FIGURE 2 but showing the shape assumed by the container during free fall.

Referring specifically to the drawing, wherein like reference characters designate like parts in all views, 10 designates generally the container which comprise substantially disc-shaped upper and lower walls 11 and 12 of any suitable impervious, flexible and substantially inelastic material such as one or more plies of textile material which has been impregnated with a rubber-like material. The outer edges of the walls 11 and 12 are sealed together in any suitable manner to provide a unitary rim 13 which may have hand holds 14 formed therethrough to provide means for readily handling the device. The upper wall 11 has a suitable filling opening formed therethrough, preferably axially thereof, which is closed by any suitable closure 15.

The interior of the container 10 is formed into two compartments as the central portion 16 and the fin 17 by any suitable baffle means as the upright partition 18 which is formed with a plurality of openings 19 there- 3,145,747 Patented Aug. 25, 1964 "Ice through to retard the flow of liquid to and from the compartments. Preferably, the central portion 16 '15 pro: vided with a protective cushion 20 of any suitable cushioning material which is located below the same in the area of impact. Resilient rubber or rubber-like mate: rial is an example of suitable material to form the cusl1 ion 20.

In operation, the container is partially filled with liquid; The location of the filling opening axially of the top Wall 11 enables the hollow fin 17 to be raised and'flattened as in FIGURE 3-, to provide a funnel and to also reduce the interior area substantially to the central por-' tion 16 whereby when such reduced interior has been filled, the operators know the correct amount of liquid has been used, Then when the closure15 has been replaced, the container 10 is allowed to assume. the static position of FIGURE 2, a portion of the liquid flowing out of the central portion 16 to the hollow fin 17 through the holes or openings 19 in the baflle or partition 18. This position is maintained until container 10 is dropped from an aircraft. Upon stabilization, the container 10 assumes the shape of FIGURE 3 with the fin 17 acting to stabilize the flight and to retard the speed of fall in a manner readily understood. This flattening of the fin 17 forces most of the liquid therein radially inwardly into the central portion 16. Upon impact, the container resumes its static shape. However, the tendency of all of the liquid to fly radially outwardly against Walls 11 and 12 is retarded by the bathe 18 by reason of the restricted openings 19. Thus, the shock is delayed, the shear effect of the liquid on walls 11 and 12 is drastically cushioned whereby the Walls can be made of lighter material to reduce the overall weight of the container as well as the cost thereof.

The central portion and battle 18 may actually be formed as a separate container within the walls 11 and 12 and may be formed of any suitable material such as rubberized fabric, metal or plastic.

While there has been shown and described what is now thought to be the preferred species of the invention, it should be understood that the same is susceptible of other forms and expressions. Therefore we do not limit ourselves to the exact structure shown and described hereinabove but only as hereinafter claimed.

We claim:

1. In a free drop container, the combination with a container body comprising a central portion and a hollow annular fin surrounding said central portion concentrically thereof; of an upright cylindrical wall fixed in said container and defining said central portion, said wall being formed with a plurality of restricted openings therethrough providing communication between said central portion and said fin, a filling opening for partially filling said central portion and fin with liquid, said fin being directed upwardly during free drop in embracing relation to said central portion whereby to partially flatten said fin and force liquid therein radially inwardly into said central portion to fill the same, said fin stabilizing said container during free drop to insure landing of said container on said central portion, and said openings in said wall comprising means for retarding flow of liquid in said central portion outwardly thereof into said fin upon impact of said container with the ground so as to protect said fin from bursting stresses.

2. The combination of claim 1, wherein said container includes a body of cushioning material below said central portion.

3. The combination of claim 1, wherein said filling opening is disposed substantially axially of said container, said fin being adapted to be deflected upwardly to form a funnel for feeding liquid into said opening and simultaneously provide means for flattening said fin and reducing the interior space of said container to facilitate supplying a measured amount of liquid to said container.

4. A free drop container comprising a flat hollow body of flexible sheet material comprising a central portion disposed about the axis of said container and a hollow endless fin surrounding said central portion, means restricting liquid flow between said central portion and said fin, means for partially filling said central portion and fin with a liquid, and said fin being adapted to be deflected upwardly and partially flattened during free drop to stabilize said container and to force at least part of the liquid in said fin radially inwardly thereof into said central portion.

5. The structure of claim 4, wherein said container includes a cushioned lower wall portion below said central portion.

6. The structure of claim 4, wherein said means restricting liquid flow between said central portion and fin comprises baflle means carried by aid container between said central portion and said fin.

7. The structure of claim 6, wherein said baflle means comprises an endless upright wall having a large number of radially directed perforations formed therethrough.

8. A free drop container comprising a hollow body including a relatively inflexible central portion and a hollow flexible fin extending around said central portion outwardly thereof, baflle means restricting liquid flow between said central portion and said fin, means for partially filling said central portion and fin with liquid, and said fin being adapted to be deflected upwardly and partially flattened during free drop to stabilize said container and to force at least part of the liquid in said fin radially inwardly thereof into said central portion of said container.

9. The structure of claim 8, wherein said baffle means comprises opposed wall portions formed with a plurality of openings therethrough.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,784,755 Bender Mar. 12, 1957 

1. IN A FREE DROP CONTAINER, THE COMBINATION WITH A CONTAINER BODY COMPRISING A CENTRAL PORTION AND A HOLLOW ANNULAR FIN SURROUNDING SAID CENTRAL PORTION CONCENTRICALLY THEREOF; OF AN UPRIGHT CYLINDRICAL WALL FIXED IN SAID CONTAINER AND DEFINING SAID CENTRAL PORTION, SAID WALL BEING FORMED WITH A PLURALITY OF RESTRICTED OPENINGS THERETHROUGH PROVIDING COMMUNICATION BETWEEN SAID CENTRAL PORTION AND SAID FIN, A FILLING OPENING FOR PARTIALLY FILLING SAID CENTRAL PORTION AND FIN WITH LIQUID, SAID FIN BEING DIRECTED UPWARDLY DURING FREE DROP IN EMBRACING RELATION TO SAID CENTRAL PORTION WHEREBY TO PARTIALLY FLATTEN SAID FIN AND FORCE LIQUID THEREIN RADIALLY INWARDLY INTO SAID CENTRAL PORTION TO FILL THE SAME, SAID FIN STABILIZING SAID CONTAINER DURING FREE DROP TO INSURE LANDING OF SAID CONTAINER ON SAID CENTRAL PORTION, AND SAID OPENINGS IN SAID WALL COMPRISING MEANS FOR RETARDING FLOW OF LI)DID IN SAID CENTRAL PORTION OUTWARDLY THEREOF INTO SAID FIN UPON IMPACT OF SAID CONTAINER WITH THE GROUND SO AS TO PROTECT SAID FIN FROM BURSTING STRESSES. 